*** THE CLAIM PERIOD IS CURRENTLY ONGOING, VISIT THE "Developments" SECTION BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION ***
On June 20, 2019, Desjardins acknowledged the unlawful disclosure and transmission of data from 2.9 million of its members, including information such as: name, date of birth, social insurance number, address, telephone number, email, and some information about transactional habits and products held by members.
On the same day, an Application for authorization to institute a class action has been filed at the Quebec City Court House by Siskinds, Desmeules, the Quebec firm affiliated with Siskinds LLP, on behalf of the members of the class described below:
"Anyone who is a member of Desjardins Group ("Fédération des Caisses Populaires Desjardins"), whose private personal information has been disclosed without authorization, because of the illegal transmission of information to third parties." **
** Illegal transmission represents the transmission by an employee of private, personal and privileged information to third parties, as disclosed on June 20, 2019.
The class definition has since been broadened to include “Any person whose personal information kept by Fédération des Caisses Desjardins du Québec were transmitted without authorization following the data breach publicly disclosed on June 20, 2019”.
The plaintiffs allege that Desjardins had at all times relevant to the facts of these proceedings, the responsibility and the obligation to adequately protect all private and confidential information held about its members and clients and that Desjardins also incurred it’s liability as principal for the wrongful act committed by it’s employee.
Developments
Update as of October 18, 2022
BEGINNING OF THE CLAIM PERIOD FOR ALL MEMBERS
The secure online portal put in place to allow members to easily submit a claim following the out of court settlement is now accessible to all members.
In the past few months, many Class Members have received a notice by AccesD or by mail containing a personalized hyperlink or access code to the online claim portal.
- If you have received such a notice and have not yet submitted a claim: you can use the unique secure link or access code as it will help validate that you are a Class Member and will expedite the processing of your claim. You may, however, also file a claim directly at www.desjardinssettlement.com
- If you did not receive such a notice: You can file a claim by visiting www.desjardinssettlement.com
Class Members who would rather submit their claim by mail can obtain a copy of the claim form in Desjardins branches or print it by clicking on this link.
DEADLINES:
- Class members who wish to claim compensation for the loss of time (of 30 minutes or more) must submit the claim form by APRIL 20, 2023.
- Class members who wish to claim compensation for identity theft must submit the claim form and the required supporting documentation by OCTOBER 20, 2025.
IMPORTANT: In order to be eligible to file a claim for identity theft that you may be informed of as of December 14, 2022, you must have registered, by December 14, 2022 for a credit monitoring service with Equifax or TransUnion. Enrolment in Equifax’s credit monitoring service can be done at the following address and is free for those affected by the Desjardins personal information breach: https://www.desjardins.com/securite/protection-desjardins/
If you have any questions, you can contact Ricepoint, the claims administrator, at 1.888.886.7164 or visit the frequently asked questions section of the settlement website.
Update as of July 21, 2022
BEGINNING OF THE CLAIM PERIOD FOR SOME MEMBERS
Starting July 21, 2022, and for a period of 13 weeks that will end in October, a notice explaining the claim process will be directly sent to some class members through their AccesD mailbox or by mail. Not all members will receive a notice during this period. The content of the notice that will be sent can be accessed by clicking on this link. The notice that will be directly received by some members will contain a personalized hyperlink to access easily the online claim form. Members who will receive the notice containing their personalized hyperlink can file a claim right away in only a couple of minutes.
Only as of mid-October, members who have not received the personalized notice through AccesD or by mail will have the opportunity to access the online claim form on www.desjardinssettlement.com. You can enter your email address on the claims administrator's website to receive a reminder at that time.
If you have any questions, you can contact Ricepoint, the claims administrator, at 1.888.886.7164 or visit the frequently asked questions section of the settlement website.
Update as of June 17, 2022
The Superior Court of Québec has rendered a judgement approving the settlement agreement reached with the Fédération des Caisses Desjardins du Québec.
Class members do not have to take any steps at this stage. Notices containing instructions for making claims will be distributed over several months beginning around July 21, 2022.
For any questions about the settlement agreement, to obtain a copy of the agreement, or to receive an email reminder when it’s time to file a claim, class members can visit www.desjardinssettlement.com, a website set up by RicePoint Administration Inc., the Claims Administrator for the settlement. You can also obtain information regarding the settlement agreement at RicePoint’s toll-free number 1.888.886.7164.
Update as of May 19, 2022
Ahead of the hearing scheduled on May 24, 2022, we have filed with the Court the Motion for approval of a settlement agreement and class counsel fees, which presents the arguments in favour of the approval of the settlement agreement and the amount of the fees claimed by class counsel.
Update as of May 12, 2022
The settlement and class counsel fees approval hearing will be held on May 24 and 25, 2022 at the Québec City Courthouse, located at 300 boulevard Jean-Lesage, in room 3.14 at 10:00 a.m. Please note that the hearing will be held in French.
Class members are not required to attend the hearing. However, class members who want to attend are strongly encouraged to do so remotely given the current COVID situation. If you want to attend the hearing remotely, please send us a request by email to the following address: [email protected], and a member of our team will send you the Teams link and the number so that you can attend either by videoconference or by phone.
If the settlement agreement is approved, another notice will be sent to inform class members.
Update as of February 8, 2022
HEARING DATE FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD TO OBJECT OR OPT-OUT
IMPORTANT: You do not have to take any steps at this stage to be included in the class action, or to benefit from the settlement agreement.
The class action includes anyone in Canada who was affected by the personal information breach disclosed in June 2019.
The settlement agreement will be submitted to the Superior Court of Québec for approval on May 24, 2022. It will not come into effect unless it is approved by the Court.
If you want to object to the settlement agreement or to opt-out from the class action, you must act before April 8, 2022. All the information regarding the process to object to the settlement or to opt-out of the class action are presented in the Notice to the class members that we ask you to read carefully. If you choose to opt-out, you will lose the opportunity to be eligible for benefits under the settlement agreement if it is approved.
If the settlement agreement is approved following the hearing of May 24, 2022, another notice will be sent to provide details about the claim process.
You can learn the details of settlement agreement and the steps to object to the settlement or opt-out of the class action by:
- visiting desjardinssettlement.com, the website set up by RicePoint Administration Inc., the company that the court provisionally appointed as the Claims Administrator, or by
- calling the toll-free number 1.888.886.7164
We do not have further information to report at this stage and you do not have to take any steps at this stage to benefit from the settlement agreement. It is therefore not necessary to reach out to us.
We will continue to update this page as the case progresses.
Update as of December 16, 2021
Settlement of the class actions
IMPORTANT: You do not have to take any steps at this stage to be included in the class actions, or to benefit from the settlement agreement. Notices will be published in 2022 to inform you about all developments in this matter, including when it is time to file a claim, if the settlement is approved.
We are very pleased to report a settlement agreement has been reached with the Fédération des Caisses Desjardins du Québec in this class action. The settlement agreement will be submitted to the Superior Court of Québec for approval in 2022, at a date to be determined. It will not come into effect unless it is approved by the Court.
The settlement agreement will, if approved, provide for simple, timely and fair compensation to class members. The settlement agreement provides, among other things, for compensation for loss of time related to the personal information breach, as well as compensation for class members who were the victims of identity theft. The settlement agreement also provides that all class members who have not yet registered for Equifax’s credit monitoring service offered by Desjardins can register and will thus be able to obtain, at no cost, Equifax coverage for 5 years, and the extension by at least 5 years of the other protective measures implemented by Desjardins following the breach.
You can read more by:
- visiting desjardinssettlement.com, the website set up by RicePoint Administration Inc., the entity that the parties will ask the court to appoint as the Claims Administrator in connection with the settlement agreement, or by
- calling the toll-free number 1.888.886.7164.
Update as of December, 2020
The hearing on the Application for authorization is postponed
The hearing on the Application for authorization to institute a class action is postponed to a date to be determined in 2021.
Update as of September 15, 2020
The Court sets the date for the hearing on the Application for authorization
On August 31, 2020, the Court determined that hearing on the Application for authorization would be held on December 10 and December 11, 2020, at 9:00AM. It is at this point that the question of whether this action may proceed as a class action will be debated.
The Court authorizes the filing of exhibits by Desjardins
On July 20, 2020, Desjardins’ counsels filed a Motion to adduce evidence. The purpose of this motion was to obtain the authorization to file documents as evidence during the hearing on the Application for authorization of this class action.
On August 24, 2020, the Court rendered a decision authorizing Desjardins to file three documents as exhibits, namely an excerpt of it’s website, an article by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and a letter sent to one of the plaintiffs.
The Court authorizes the amendments to the Application for authorization
On April 2, 2020, the Court rendered a decision authorizing the class counsels to file the Amended application for authorization to institute a class action. The purpose of the amendments was to take into account the numerous developments that have occurred in this matter since we first filed our initial Application for authorization on June 20, 2019, to amend the different claims for damages that are being sought on behalf of class members, and to add two proposed representatives of the class.
Update as of January 24, 2020
Siskinds Desmeules and Kugler Kandestin file an amended application for authorization to institute a class action
We sent an email to class members who have communicated with us to date in order to advise them of recent developments with respect to the Desjardins data breach class action.
In brief, on January 20, 2020, the attorneys for class members (Siskinds Desmeules and Kugler Kandestin) filed with the Court a joint Application for permission to file an amended application for authorization to institute a class action.
FAQs
What is a class action?
A class action is a lawsuit that is brought by one or more person on behalf of a larger group of people whose claims share common legal and/or factual issues. Class actions provide a cost-effective way for groups of people with common interests to pursue a legal claim.
Do I have to pay anything to participate in the class action?
Class action lawyers are usually paid on a contingency basis. This means that class counsel are only paid if successful. Class counsel are paid a percentage of any settlement or court award. Class counsel fees are subject to court approval.
Can I join the class action?
There are no steps required to “join” the class action. Unless you opted-out (excluded yourself from the class action), assuming you fall within the scope of the class definition, you are automatically included in the class action.
Can I exclude myself from the class action?
No. The opt-out period ended on April 8, 2022. Click here to view the notice.
I still have a question. Who should I contact?
If you have any other questions, please contact the Claims Administrator by phone: 1.888.886.7164 or visit the website www.desjardinssettlement.com
Documents
- Paper claim form (by mail)
- Explanatory notice
- Notice of approval hearing
- Email to class members - January 24, 2020 (French and English)
Procedures (french only)
- Decision on the motion for approval of a settlement agreement- Superior Court - June 22, 2022
- Decision on the motion for approval of class counsel fees- Superior Court - June 22, 2022
- Motion for approval of a settlement agreement and class counsel fees - 17 mai 2022
- Decision authorizing Desjardins to file three documents as exhibits- Superior Court - August 24, 2020
- Motion to adduce evidence - July 20, 2020
- Amended application for authorization to institute a class action - April 6, 2020
- Decision authorizing the class counsel to file an amended application - Superior Court - April 2, 2020
- Application for permission to file an amended application for authorization to institute a class action. - January 17, 2020
- Application for authorization to institute a class action - June 21, 2019